This development tool for the Gamecube was crafted by SN Systems. On the outside, it looks like a fairly normal Gamecube, although it does have a unique chocolate brown color. It differs in that it has a switch for the BIOS, enabling the play of both US and Japan titles. Of course, retail titles don’t work at all, as the unit needs NR discs, which are special-formatted media for testers. Internally, the TDEV includes 48MB of ram for debugging functions, much more than a normal Gamecube contains.

Typically used in universities, the TDEV normally includes a USB interface to allow for quick testing of objects from programs like MAYA. Unfortunately, to get the most out of the kit, you do need a special license which has to be renewed regularly, although the common consensus is that it would relatively trivial to get around. I believe that the unit should function as an NR Reader without the license, but we will find out of that is true or not in the near future.  Updated : Thanks to Kiff confirming, the TDEV DOES work as a standard NR Reader! Be sure to follow him on Twitter!

For now, enjoy the screenshots located after the break. Expect video of the unit in the future!

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